Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru (EP)

Bengaluru, Aug 18: The Banashankari police have apprehended four individuals on charges of swindling an elderly woman out of crores of rupees. The arrested individuals are Apoorva Yadav and her mother Vishala, both residents of Banashankari, along with Apoorva's friend Arundati and her husband Rakesh. The quartet is accused of deceiving P N Shanta (65), a resident of Banashankari, of a staggering sum totaling Rs 3.5 crores. Sanjeevappa, Apoorva's father-in-law, and Parimala, her mother-in-law, are also implicated in the fraud but remain at large. Sanjeevappa's plea for bail has been denied by the court.

Shanta resides with her daughter and possesses four bank accounts, including a fixed deposit worth Rs 1.9 crore in a bank where Apoorva and Arundati are employed. The two accused became acquainted with Shanta through their workplace and began frequenting her residence under the pretense of discussing insurance matters.

Upon learning about Shanta's substantial property holdings, they conspired to capitalize on the situation. Falsely asserting that the property was afflicted by "Vastu Dosha," they engaged intermediaries to facilitate the sale of the property for Rs 2.5 crores. After the sale proceeds were deposited into Shanta's bank account, the accused visited her residence and obtained her signature on six blank cheques, ostensibly for insurance purposes. Subsequently, they wrote their names on these cheques, withdrawing the sum in question. The culprits also orchestrated the closure of Shanta's fixed deposits, justifying the need to access her late husband's share, and successfully diverted the funds into their own accounts.

Apoorva, the prime accused, transferred Rs 3.5 crores to her mother Vishala's account. She then equally divided Rs 1.75 crore each between herself and Arundati. Notably, Apoorva's father-in-law, Sanjeevappa, used a portion of the ill-gotten gains, transferring Rs 45 lacs to repay a loan associated with his resort in Shivamogga. Additionally, Apoorva routed Rs two lacs to her former boyfriend's account.

Arundati and Apoorva, privy to Shanta's banking activities, took measures to prevent Shanta from receiving any SMS notifications from the bank. During their visits, they would delete these messages from Shanta's mobile device. The police have communicated with the bank to reclaim the funds redirected to accounts belonging to the accused's relatives. A case pertaining to this incident has been registered at the Banashankari police station.